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I never planned to make my own probiotic.

For over a decade, I’ve pointed you toward other people’s formulas. Someone else’s company, someone else’s lab, my name attached only as the person who trusted it enough to recommend it to you.

GOOD GUYS is mine. I made it, and here’s why.

Why “GOOD GUYS”

My kids started it.

They’ve never called probiotics “probiotics.” In our house, probiotics have always been the good guys. As in: eat the good guys, they help your tummy.

So when it came time to name the gummy I’d spent months pondering, I didn’t need a focus group. I already had one, at my own kitchen table, asking when the “good guys” gummies were coming back.

Side note: In general, we talk about ‘how to get the good gut buggies.’ Either way, GOOD GUYS fits.

Why a Gummy First

Click HERE to save this information for later.

I didn’t start with something heavy duty.

Break Down, Increase Now, and Move Now exist because SIBO and IBS symptoms often need targeted, specific support. Good Guys is not that.

This is the gentle entry point. One simple daily habit, built for a gut that might already be reactive, and easy enough to hand to a 9-year-old.

If you eventually need something more targeted, that’s a separate conversation. I’ll walk you through it the same way I always have.

What’s Actually Inside

GOOD GUYS is 100% spore-based. That distinction is important to call out.

Most probiotics on a pharmacy shelf are not spore-forming. A large share of those organisms die off in stomach acid before they ever reach your intestines.

Spore-forming Bacillus strains work differently. They carry a protective outer coating that lets them survive digestion dormant, then activate once they reach the gut.

Research using the SHIME model, a lab system built to simulate the human GI tract, has shown spore-based Bacillus blends can support gut barrier function and shift microbial activity in the colon.

GOOD GUYS uses four spore-forming Bacillus strains:

Strain	What It’s Studied For
Bacillus indicus HU36	Produces carotenoids, like lycopene, beta-carotene, and lutein, at the site of absorption in the gut.
Bacillus clausii SC109	Survives the acidic stomach environment and supports intestinal colonization. Studied for immune and respiratory support.
Bacillus subtilis HU58	The most heavily studied strain in this blend. Supports a balanced, harmonious intestinal ecosystem and gut barrier function.
Bacillus coagulans SC208	Produces L-lactic acid, which supports immune function and digestibility.

Four of these five strains, HU36, HU58, SC208, and SC109, are the same ones found in Microbiome Labs’ flagship MegaSporeBiotic, a 5-strain formula I’ve referenced on this site before. GOOD GUYS is missing only the fifth strain, Bacillus licheniformis SL-307.

Formulated With Microbiome Labs

GOOD GUYS wasn’t built in some random contract manufacturing facility.

It’s formulated in partnership with Microbiome Labs, the company behind MegaSporeBiotic. If you’ve been in this space a while, you know that name. It’s one of the most cited spore-based probiotic manufacturers in published gut microbiome research.

That partnership is why I’m comfortable putting my name on this probiotic.

Should You Take Good Guys With SIBO?

I get this question with every probiotic I’ve ever mentioned, and I’m not going to dodge it here.

Whether or not to take a probiotic with active SIBO is genuinely one of the most nuanced questions in gut health. I wrote an entire article breaking down the research and my own back-and-forth history with it. Read it HERE.

Short version: GOOD GUYS is a general maintenance probiotic. It’s built to support a diverse, healthy microbiome day to day, not to serve as a targeted therapeutic protocol for active bacterial overgrowth.

If you’re in an active SIBO flare or working through a specific eradication protocol with your practitioner, that’s a different conversation than a daily gummy. Talk to whoever is treating you before adding this in.

Is Good Guys a Fit for You?

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How We Replaced Just Thrive

We took the Just Thrive probiotic gummy religiously in this house. If you’ve read this site for a while, you’ve seen me recommend it more than once.

GOOD GUYS has replaced it completely in our home.

Two honest differences worth knowing before you switch:

Price. Just Thrive Probiotic Gummies retail for $44.99 at full price. GOOD GUYS is $31.

Sugar. Good Guys uses tapioca syrup and cane sugar as part of the gummy base. It’s not a sugar-free product (2g sugar). If that matters to you, it’s worth knowing going in, same as I’d tell you about any gummy.

	Good Guys	Just Thrive Gummies
Price	$31.00	$44.99 (regular)
Strains	4 spore-forming Bacillus strains	4 spore-forming Bacillus strains
Format	Gummy, no fridge needed	Gummy, no fridge needed
Made by	Microbiome Labs partnership	Just Thrive Health

How to Use It

Dosing depends on age:

• Ages 4 to 8: 1 gummy daily
• Ages 9 and up: 1 to 2 gummies daily
• Adults: 2 gummies daily per the label, or as directed by your practitioner

[My husband and I take 2. My kids also each take 2 because they are 10, 11, and 12 years old.]

No fridge required. No need to time it around meals. The spores are built to survive digestion regardless of when you take them.

Give it a few weeks. Probiotics work gradually, not overnight.

If you liked this article, you might also enjoy:

1. Should I Take a Probiotic with SIBO?
2. Spore-Based Probiotics Benefits
3. Enzyme vs Probiotic

This is the first product I’ve built strain by strain, instead of vouching for someone else’s. My kids named it. Microbiome Labs helped me build it right. And it’s finally in your hands, and mine, at the same time.

Xox,
SKH

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always follow the label and consult your healthcare provider if you are pregnant, nursing, immunocompromised, or under medical care.